Greer's OC: Wood Racquet Classic is hottest event of the summer

The place to be this Labor Day weekend is at the 14th annual Costa Mesa Wood Racquet Classic to benefit the John WayneCancer Foundation.

The fashionable and philanthropic event brings classic style to the forefront, with participants playing with wooden racquets and wearing vintage tennis attire.

The event starts at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Palisades Tennis Club, 1171 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach, with matches between men, women and children. A reception will be from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Boathouse Collective, 1640 Pomona Ave., Costa Mesa.

On Sunday, the championship tournament takes place from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 437 E. 20th St., Costa Mesa, at the neighboring residences owned by Clay Peterson and Johnny McCray, who combine their yards for a fantastic venue.

Peterson and McCray both lost a loved one to cancer, and formed the annual backyard tennis tournament to raise funds in the fight against cancer. The day's festivities include a fabulous silent auction, a photo booth and area for kids to play. The annual closing reception is at 8 p.m. at A Restaurant, 3334 W. Coast Hwy., in Newport Beach.

Spectator admission costs $27, children 12 and younger are admitted for $10. VIP tickets are $151, or $127 in an online presale.

Since 1969, the Habit has been serving char-grilled burgers to generations of fans who appreciate their solid and tasty made-to-order burgers.

The concept is expanding further into Orange County with four new restaurants opening in Huntington Beach in mid- September, followed by San Clemente, Costa Mesa and Irvine.

The Habit already has five locations in Orange County including Aliso Viejo, Anaheim Hills, Fullerton, Lake Forest and Santa Ana.

The Habit also offers a signature, open-flame-grilled charburger, starting at just $2.95, and a variety of menu items including five sandwiches, six entrée salads, sweet potato fries, onion rings and French fries, as well as handmade shakes, malts, sundaes and vanilla ice cream cones for just $1. Favorite menu items include the charburger with barbecue sauce and bacon, the hand-filleted albacore tuna sandwich with teriyaki glaze, the chicken Caesar salad, crispy onion rings and the delicious chicken club sandwich.

The Huntington Beach restaurant will be in the former Tommy Pastrami at Beach Boulevard near Talbert Street. San Clemente's will be at 638 Camino del los Mares, formerly a Carl's Jr. In Costa Mesa, the Habit will be on Adams Avenue, near Harbor Boulevard. The Irvine location is not available yet.

No one can compete with the Halloween extravaganza that Roger's Gardens' design team puts on each year.

This year's debut of the "Blackstone Manor" is from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday. The spooky location is up through Oct. 31. When you enter the rooms, you'll feel a slight chill, hear whispering voices, and may see visions of shadows.

The experience promises to be a treat for everyone and everything is for sale. Choose from vintage inspired reproductions, lifelike ravens, snakes, spiders and rats; candelabras, skeletons, creepy art and much more. And don't forget, food trucks stop by the Victory Garden from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Trucks include Chomp Chomp Nation, Seabirds, Lobsta Truck and Kogi BBQ. Roger's Gardens, 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road, Corona del Mar, is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

GREER WYLDER writes Greer's OC for the Huntington Beach Independent each Thursday and the Daily Pilot and Coastline Pilot each Friday. She's the founder and president of greersoc.com, a free daily email service that provides the latest in Orange County fashion, dining, music, events and trends. Her blog can be viewed at http://www.greersoc.com and she can be contacted at greer@greersoc.com.